Reverse engineer a HP VEE app for GPIB

[Ben]

Customer has an existing app they want modified but it was developed in HP VEE and they want me to re-do it.

it uses a an NI-GPIB to interface with a Agilent 87XX Network Analyzer

I'm looking for your opinion if its worth trying to use....

NI-Spy since it is using an NI GPIB interface.

OR

Port Mon

Just looking for any opions before I actually try anything and of course the instrument is in a different city and "just trying it" will have to funded ahead of time.

Anyone with experience in this area are welcome to voice your thougths.

Ben

Asking first... then I try...

[tbob]

Do you have the HPVEE source code?  If so, you could see all the GPIB commands in the code.  It would be easy to duplicate in Labview.  If you don't have the source code, then using NI Spy would be an option.

[Dennis_Knutson]

Ben,

Exactly which model of analyzer? If there is a driver available, you might not want to exactly duplicate what was done with the Vee code. I would use NI-Spy but in the past, I've avoided duplicating the instrument calls since it was not the most efficient way to program in LabVIEW.

[Ben]

HP VEE source code...

I'll have to ask. 

I believe it is an HP 8753.

THe driver from the NI site sorta works but I had to fix one thing to adapt to the specifi model and I am looking questioningly at a commnad that does not seem to be working that is also lacking a semi-colon so I am not confident the issues I am seeing are not due to the driver.

I did have the instrument in my cube a while back and the basic example ran fine but since sending it back the customer started asking for changes to cover what they hadn't anticipated.

I have sent them the "semi-colon" change for them to test to see if they can control the output power level, but rather than throwing code at this challenge, I was hoping to take a peak at how the other app was manipualting the settings to see what we may have been missing.

Update:

No the semi-colon did not work.

Thanks for the reply,

Ben

[smercurio_fc]

Which model of the 8753? In our lab we have an 8753C, E, and ES. I have a set of drivers for that instrument, but I don't know how different they are from the ones on the NI site, as I've never looked at the ones from NI. The command for the power level should be "POWE<value>;". Yes, the semicolon is needed at the end of the commands.

[Ben]

Let me verify with the customer.

My notes show it was an HP 8720 ES but please wait until I get the confirmation from the customer.

AS per teh book I was looking at the command syntax should have been "POWE<value>DB;" but let me verify the model number before I go implementing commands for the wrong model.

If I had to guess right now I have to focus on the "SOUP" command being ignored.

Thank you!

Ben

Message Edited by Ben on 04-05-2010 01:41 PM

[smercurio_fc]

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Ben wrote:

Let me verify with the customer.

My notes show it was an HP 8720 ES but please wait until I get the confirmation from the customer.

AS per teh book I was looking at the command syntax should have been "POWE<value>DB;" but let me verify the model number before I go implementing commands for the wrong model.

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The DB is optional. The command set for the 8720 appears to be very similar to the 8753-line.

[Ben]

HP 8720 ES confirmed.

We are attempting to do a Shielding effectiveness test so it has a mode where it can watch the transmitted and the recieved ("s21") and do so math to calcualte the effectiveness. When they try to run my code they keep getting message similar to "power over-load" and we have not figured out how to control the power output. So far my attempts to control the output power come up empty.

Ben

[tbob]

Can you send a POWE? command to get the current setting of the power level?  Maybe try to get that value from the front panel controls to determine if there is indeed a power overload.  Is there a command to set the power meter range?

[Ben]

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tbob wrote:

Can you send a POWE? command to get the current setting of the power level?  Maybe try to get that value from the front panel controls to determine if there is indeed a power overload.  Is there a command to set the power meter range?

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Yes there is a command to set the range wrapped-up in a VI of the driver that combines auto/man the range and output on/off. THe way the VI is written implies that the three values interact. I exposed those to the customer via ini setting and no combination of those three along with the POWE command do what the customer wants.

I may end up having to visit the customer to figure this out. Central PA is beutiful this time of year.

Ben